The typically Rhenish-Hessian placename ending —heim might well go back to Frankish times, that is to say, likely as far back as the 5th or 6th century. Settlements or estates then took their lords’ names and were given this suffix, which means "home" in German. The name is recorded in later documents as Ingilinhaim, Ingilinheim (782), Ingilenhaim, Engelheim, Hengilonheim, Engilonheim (822), Engilinheim (826), Hingilinheim (855), Ingilunheim (874), Ingulinheim (889), Ingelesheim (891), Ingelenheim (940), Anglia sedes (1051), Ingilheim and Ingelnheim (1286), among other forms.

Since 1269, a distinction has been made between Nieder-Ingelheim and Ober-Ingelheim (Lower and Upper Ingelheim)

Ingelheim am Rhein lies in the north of Rhein Hessen on the so-called Rhein Knee, west of the state capital, Mainz. The Rhein forms the town’s northern limit. Southwards, the town stretches into the valley of the river Selz, which empties into the Rhein in the constituent community of Ingelheim-Nord ("North").

The constituent communities of Ingelheim-Mitte and Ingelheim-Süd ("Middle" and "South") are nestled against the corner of the so-called Mainzer Berg ("Mainz Mountain").

The municipal area’s lowest point is the harbour on the Rhein at 80.8 m above sea level. The two highest points are the Mainzer Berg at 247.8 m above sea level and the Westerberg at 247.5 m above sea level.

An obelisk on the south side of the village in direction Wackernheim, marks the road begun by Charlemagne, and completed by Napoleon. From this point a fine prospect of the entire Rheingau could be obtained.[2]

Ingelheim is currently divided into six Stadtteile: Ingelheim-Mitte, Ingelheim-Nord, Ingelheim-Süd, Sporkenheim, Groß-Winternheim and Ingelheim-West. Before Ingelheim became a town in 1939, the first three centres bore the names Nieder-Ingelheim, Frei-Weinheim and Ober-Ingelheim. Official changes notwithstanding, the old names are still quite often used.

The town lies in the temperate zone. The average yearly temperature in Ingelheim is 9.8 °C. The warmest months are July and August with average temperatures of 18.0 and 18.5 °C respectively, and the coldest month is January at 1.0 °C on average. The most precipitation falls in June and August with an average of 64 mm, and the least in March with an average of 31 mm. Like all Rhenish Hesse, Ingelheim, too, is sheltered from the weather by the Hunsrück, the Taunus, the Odenwald and the Donnersberg, thereby limiting the yearly precipitation to only 560 mm.

The Ingelheim area was already settled in prehistoric times. The place first earned itself particular importance, though, only under Charlemagne and his successors. Charlemagne had the Ingelheim Imperial Palace (Ingelheimer Kaiserpfalz) built here, where synods and Imperial diets were held in the time that followed. His son and successor, Emperor Louis the Pious, died on 20 June 840 in Ingelheim.

In the High and Late Middle Ages, the Palatinate’s, and thereby also Ingelheim’s, importance shrank.

For German justice history, the Ingelheimer Oberhof ("Ingelheim Upper Court") is of particular importance, as a unique collection of judgments from the 15th and 16th centuries that it handed down has been preserved.

Late 19th century Ingelheim was the residence of the Dutch writer Multatuli (Eduard Douwes Dekker).

In 1939, the formerly self-administering municipalities of Nieder-Ingelheim, Ober-Ingelheim and Frei-Weinheim were merged into the Town of Ingelheim am Rhein.

Burgkirche – "Castle Church" – the town’s landmark

From the Second World War, Ingelheim emerged as the only unscathed town between Mainz and Koblenz. Today, Ingelheim is a middle centre in Rhineland-Palatinate, a Great District-Bound Town (Große kreisangehörige Stadt – a status deriving from the Rhineland-Palatinate Municipal Order) and the seat of district administration for Mainz-Bingen.

Furthermore, Ingelheim harbours the business Boehringer Ingelheim which has become active worldwide.

Until 1942 there was a Jewish community, whose beginnings went back to the 16th century. About 1850, roughly 200 Jewish inhabitants lived in Ober-Ingelheim, and by 1933 there were still 134 all together in Oberingelheim and Niederingelheim. In 1840 and 1841, a synagogue that was important to architectural history was built. It was dedicated on 27 August 1841 and destroyed on 9 November 1938 – Kristallnacht. Many Jewish inhabitants lost their lives after being deported to the death camps during the time of the Third Reich.

The Museum bei der Kaiserpfalz ("Museum at the Imperial Palace") has an exhibit dedicated to the Imperial Palace built in Ingelheim after 785 by Charlemagne. On show are small archaeological finds, objects from architectural sculpture and a demonstrative model of the once imposing building. Remnants of the Imperial Palace can be seen right near the museum. Of Europe-wide importance is the golden solidus found in 1996, which is hitherto still the only gold coin ever found struck with Charlemagne’s effigy.[4]

In the cadastral areas of Nieder-Ingelheim and Frei-Weinheim, mainly north of the Autobahn along Konrad-Adenauer-Straße, but also south of the Autobahn – even within the Boehringer Ingelheim industrial lands – are found drifting chalk sands. Likewise a deposit is to be found in the area of the Griesmühle (mill).

These formations are under conservational protection under the Rhineland-Palatinate State Care Law. Damaging them or removing them, among other acts, is considered an incompensable encroachment on nature and the landscape. Municipal building uses in drifting chalk sand areas are therefore routinely excluded or only approved in very special cases. Two such exceptions were the building of Konrad-Adenauer-Straße (from the Autobahn bridge to Rheinstraße) and the building of the daycare centre on Sporkenheimer Straße.

The MütZe ("Mothers’ and Families’ Centre", with the abbreviation resembling the word Mütze – "cap") is to be found at the old Gymnasium. The MütZe takes upon itself a generation-spanning exchange for all Ingelheim residents. A babysitter exchange, handicraft classes, breakfast and lunch, housework and holiday support are regularly offered, as well as courses and events covering every family theme from babies to health to creativity.

In Ingelheim there are also a House of Youth (Haus der Jugend, although this is soon to become a shopping centre and will be replaced with another House of Youth) and a Mehrgenerationshaus.

Since 1972 there has been a yearly folk music event, the Eurofolkfestival Ingelheim, on the Burgkirche Fairgrounds. It is said to be one of the successor festivals to the famous Waldeck-Festivals. A great number of the visitors are people from the hippie culture and youths from the local area and from throughout Germany. The number of visitors varies from 2,000 to 3,000. It is usually held between mid-June and mid-July and always lasts from Friday to Sunday. Out of the Eurofolkfestival grew the OpenOhr Festival (a youth cultural festival) in Mainz in 1974 and 1975.

Hafenfest auf der Jungau ("Harbour Festival on the Jungau"), each year in early August.

Ingelheimer Rotweinfest ("Ingelheim Red Wine Festival") on the Burgkirche Fairgrounds, is held each year from the last weekend in September to the first weekend in October.

Kerb in Groß-Winternheim ("kermis, or church consecration festival"), second weekend in September

Internationale Tage ("International Days"), each year since 1959.

Umsonst-und-drinnen, international music festival for new blood groups.

Kinderfest der DPSG Ingelheim ("Ingelheim DPSG Children’s Festival"), each year on Ascension Day since 1969 on the Jungau in Frei-Weinheim.

Entekerb ("Harvest Kermis"), in October in Frei-Weinheim.

Altstadtfest ("Old Town Festival"), second weekend in August, staged by NCI

Fest der Generationen, second Saturday in September around the old Gymnasium, staged by the MütZe

Ingelheim lies on the Mainz-Bingen-Cologne (West Rhine Railway) and Saarbrücken-Mainz-Frankfurt railway lines. Between Ingelheim-Nord and Oestrich-Winkel runs a Rhine ferry. The constituent communities and the surrounding municipalities are served by city and regional bus routes of Omnibusverkehr Rhein-Nahe GmbH. The local rail transport is served by the Rhein-Nahe-Nahverkehrsverbund.

Of the 4,987-hectare municipal area, 641 ha is used for winegrowing and 1 373 ha is used for crops. The main agricultural produce is sour cherries, asparagus and wine. Although the town lies in a region dominated by white wine, 54.9% of the vineyard area in Ingelheim am Rhein is used for growing red wine varieties. With 641 ha in vineyards, the town is moreover one of Rhenish Hesse’s biggest winegrowing centres after Worms, (1,490 ha), Nierstein (783 ha), Alzey (769 ha), Westhofen (764 ha), Alsheim (704 ha) and Bechtheim (654 ha), and one of the biggest in the whole state of Rhineland-Palatinate.

"The red wines of Ingelheim and Heidesheim (…) opposite to Eltville (…) enjoy a high reputation."[2]